So… Apple’s seminar on stopping product leaks just leaked online

In an ironic twist, an internal Apple seminar on stopping product leaks has accidentally been leaked online to the general public.

Here at Bandwidth Blog, we thrive on digging in to the latest product leaks – from Apple and beyond – and forecasting the next big tech trends to come in mobile tech. For instance, early leaks have revealed much about Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 8 / iPhone Edition, and that’s something we imagine the Cupertino company isn’t terribly thrilled about.

In an ironic move, Apple has since held a special seminar in a bid to educate employees how to avoid leaking specifics around forthcoming products – and now the outline of that seminar has, unsurprisingly, leaked online.

The Outline reports that Apple’s presentation, dubbed Stopping Leakers – Keeping Confidential at Apple, was convened by David Rice, Lee Freedman, and Jenny Hubbert of the company – and was issued with specific information on Apple’s ‘Global Security Team’, which serves to “prevent information from reaching competitors, counterfeiters, and the press.”

The seminar apparently used several videos depicting CEO Tim Cook on stage revealing products at one of the company’s annual keynote addresses, with a narration reading:

After the first video concludes, Hubbert addresses the room. “So you heard Tim say, ‘We have one more thing.’ So what is that one more thing?” she asks. “Surprise and delight. Surprise and delight when we announce a product to the world that hasn’t leaked. It’s incredibly impactful, in a really positive way. It’s our DNA. It’s our brand. But when leaks get out, that’s even more impactful. It’s a direct hit to all of us.”

The seminar allegedly looked into “behind the scenes of leaks”, where it was detailed that Apple has successfully minimised leaks out of its factories, and that Apple’s campuses have, apparently, leaked far more information than any factory processes have in the past year.

The report further depicts that the presentation included a personal piece from Rice on employee secrecy between friends, families, and fellow employees – at the seminar, Rice allegedly stated that “I go through a lot of trouble not to talk about what I work on with my wife, with my teenage kids… with my friends, my family…“I’m not telling you that you give up all relationships… but that you have a built-in relationship monitor that you’re constantly using.”

According to Rice, Apple has designated ‘Red Zones’, wherein such spaces employees are not supposed to talk about their work on upcoming products or services.